By IANS
New Delhi : Asserting its sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir, India Wednesday rejected Pakistani protests over a civilian-military trekking expedition to the Siachen glacier in the state, saying 15 such teams had visited the area in the past one year.
“The whole of Jammu and Kashmir is Indian territory. What is the problem (in sending trekking expeditions to Siachen)?” Defence Minister A.K. Antony wondered.
“In the last one year, more than 15 teams have gone to Siachen. There has been no opposition to this. So why this time?” Antony asked, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Coast Guard conference.
“In July, there have been teams with members from the US, France and Australia,” he added.
India and Pakistan had fought a bitter two-decade long conflict on the Siachen glacier, where the heights rise to 22,000 feet and the temperatures plunge to minus 50 degrees Celsius in winter.
The guns have been silent since a truce was declared in 2003 and the two countries are now attempting to resolve the dispute over the glacier through their composite dialogue process.
Contending that Siachen was “disputed territory”, Pakistan had Monday protested the visit of the latest civilian-military expedition to the glacier, saying this would vitiate the ongoing peace process.
The 46-member team was, meanwhile, flown to Leh Wednesday in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft for an acclimatisation camp prior to undertaking an eight-day, 24-km trek to the 16,000-ft high Kumar Post on the glacier.
The team comprises four cadets each from the Rashtriya Indian Military College and the Chail Military School, two cadets from the Indian Military Academy, six cadets – including four girls – from the National Cadet Corps, four civilians, including the wife of an army officer, four officers, 15 personnel below officer rank and seven media persons.
The team, which will be accompanied by 10 army glacial experts, will spend a week at the acclimatisation camp, followed by a four-day orientation course at the same place.
The team will then move to the Siachen Base Camp for four days of training in glacial craft before setting off for Kumar Post.